Shawshank Redemption

An important idea represented in the film ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ by Frank Darabont, is freedom. The 3 production techniques that helped me understand the theme were colour/ lighting, props/ costume and sound effects/ music

The idea freedom is presented in the scene earlier in the film when one of the prisoners asks Andy at the cafeteria ‘are you gonna eat that?’Andy didn’t want the food and handed it over which was fed to the tiny bird in the other mans pocket. The bird symbolizes freedom because when it had fully grown and was able to fly, it was set free by the man who took care of it. Freedom is shown by the production technique, lighting. The event takes place in a dark jail cell. Light shines through the bars of a little window, where the bird is set free. We understand the idea freedom when the bird flies out towards the light/freedom and is no longer confined inside the pocket of the man also kept in jail.

Freedom is most clearly displayed in the ‘rooftop scene’. Initially the setting is significant as birds can fly and go wherever they want and many of them choose to land on rooftops, perhaps a resting place for them. The rooftop is significant because it is a place for rest and represents freedom. Colour is used to help us understand how freedom is felt in this scene. The sky appeared a much brighter blue than all the other blues used in this film, which are more dark and grey, used on buildings, the sky, and uniform, to suggest a depressing environment. When Red got rejected from being let out of jail he was pushed out the door of the building, and the door slammed shut and echoed. This sound effect suggested the feeling of being trapped and helps you notice the difference in the sky and colours and sense the feeling of freedom on the rooftop. There has been a big difference in the moods throughout this film. The prisoners began to feel hopeful. The production technique, music was used to convey freedom in the scene that Andy played Italian...

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Some wise guy might dismiss The ShawshankRedemption as Son of Cool Hand Luke. So it is, but it's more than that. Frank Darabont's adaptation of a Stephen King novella seems to respond to the old Paul Newman movie, amend it, complete it.
A well-bred young banker is sent to serve a life term in Shawshank prison in Maine after being unjustly convicted of the murder of his wife and her lover. Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) seems to be a pragmatic version of Cool Hand Luke. Whereas Luke's only agenda was to run away from the chain gang, endure punishment, then run away again, Andy apparently has only limited, relatively realistic goals: he wants to survive prison with a minimum of decency, and he wants to share that decency with his circle of friends--the grimly stocis "Red" Redding (Morgan Freeman) and a few others. So he uses his knowledge of investment strategies and tax shelters to ingratiate himself with the head guard and the warden, both greedy brutes whose avarice can be played upon to neutralize their sadism. Dufresne's shrewdness gains him one concession after another: out-of-door work and free beer for his buddies, protection from a gang of rapists, the post of assistant librarian, and, finally, permission to start a prison tutorial program. Though Andy does give way to Luke-like bursts of rebellion--at one point he sends a gorgeous Mozart...

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In the film, ShawshankRedemption, directed by Frank Darabont, insight was given to the life of prisoners in bondage. Tim Robbins’ character Andy gave an excellent illustration on how new prisoners enter a world of unknown dangers and survive. Andy’s metamorphosis from “lanky new fish” to a man of prestige was definitely interesting. His change reflected on his fellow prisoners, the Prison staff, and himself as well during his sentence. Andy exemplified a man who could compromise with his surroundings and make the best of every moment. The story of Andy’s life in the ShawshankRedemption gave insight for every man beginning his prison journey.
Upon the arrival of all new prisoners stood Andy, a man convicted of murder. Like any other, bets were placed on him to challenge how long he could last. Andy began his new life quiet and concrete. His fellow prisoners had no idea what type of man he would become. After being attacked and raped on numerous occasions Andy had to stand up for himself. As he gradually made friends with Morgan Freeman’s character, Redd, his network grew. He needed things and Redd got it for him. From that point on because of his attitude people grew interested. Andy became one of the most friendliest and dependable friends any of the prisoners ever had. The ways he carried himself and acted upon situations were accepted throughout the entire prison. Once he became well-known...

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The movie The ShawshankRedemption, written and directed by Frank Darabont and based on a novel by Stephen King, displays excitement and suspense. Mercifully free of cheap horror and overwrought dialogue, this 1994 release celebrates the resilience of the human spirit. The movie opens in 1947 as Andy Dufrense, a prominent New England banker, stands trial for murdering his wife and her lover. Although Andy insists his innocence, the jury finds him guilty. As Andy struggles with his new lifestyles, he becomes friends with another inmate named “Red”. The partnership between Andy and “Red” supports the crucial way the story unfolds. Three reasons to recognize The ShawshankRedemption as an extraordinary film include the strength of its performers, partnership between the characters, and the fight against despair.
One quality that makes The ShawshankRedemption an outstanding movie involves the fight against despair. Where lesser men may crumble in a position like Andy, Andy displays a man with hidden reserves. Throughout the movie Andy represents a man with high qualities and hope. He gradually gains personal satisfaction by sharing hope with other inmates. Although it takes Andy six years of writing letters to the government, they finally give him financial aid to rebuild the prison library. The library allows Andy to relate and reach out...

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ShawshankRedemption
The ShawshankRedemption is a drama film released in 1994 written and directed by Frank Darabont. The overall theme of The ShawshankRedemption is the burden of isolation and imprisonment. Each of the inmates inside Shawshank Prison is locked up metaphorically as well as literally. Most prisoners in Shawshankredemption are there for life sentences. All that time behind the walls have changed the way the prisoners think and how they live. The young prisoners always say they are innocent when they are truly guilty. But Red, (played by Morgan Freeman) admits that he is guilty after spending 40 years in jail. The time he had to think about what he did is what led him to confess the truth. This is just one example of what all those years of isolation does to a person. The formal elements, camera, and the narrative is what I will use to prove the theme.
The overall look and feel of the film is dark until the ending. The mise-en-scene of shawshank prison is unjust and shady. The design and characters help shape the mise-en-scene as an unjust and shady prison system. The design of shawshank looks like an old school dark sort of tower as you can see when andy first arrives to the prison. The costume is spot on in this movie. The officers...

...“Everyone needs freedom.”
Discuss this idea in light of your study of The ShawshankRedemption.
The walls of Shawshank are both confining and comforting for the men they imprison. The ShawshankRedemption takes a dual approach to ideas of freedom, exploring both the need for a sense of freedom and the desire to remain in the security of the institution. Andy’s twenty-year struggle to escape represents the profound human need to be free. The enjoyment of the prisoners as they share beers while tarring a factory roof and the mental release they feel as Andy plays forbidden music across the hijacked public address system demonstrate the idea that a sense of freedom is essential when physical escape is impossible. However, for prisoners who come to depend on the structure of their confinement, freedom is an intimidating challenge. Both Red and Brooks become institutionalised and struggle to survive in the world outside the prison’s walls. While Red chooses to make the most of his freedom, the experience is too much for Brooks and his release causes him to kill himself. While the film asserts the basic need for a sense of freedom, it also explores the idea that absolute freedom can be dangerous for those who have lived too long without it.
Andy’s attitude during his time at Shawshank is represented as being very different to that of the other inmates. Andy’s need to be free...

...Frank Darabont’s mysterious film “The ShawshankRedemption” is a deep meaningful representation of friendship within a prison. It shows us how hope can be encountered in a dark and deceitful place, how both literal and figurative walls trap Andy. To the end, Darabont uses symbolism in his description of setting, in his use of camera angles and Lighting.
The setting of “The ShawshankRedemption” is replete with potent symbolism.The shawshank prison is a dark, deceitful place of confinement where citizens spend their days letting their minds wonder over the little things in their lifetime. Its walls stained grey and black; its bars are rusty and cold; rooms damp, clay lines the walls in a minimalistic style. The symbolism serves several purposes. Firstly, it turns the setting into a dark hole of nothingness — everything looks drab and dull. Secondly, it betrays the fact that a reduction of hope has taken place within the walls of the prison: the thick grey walls are closing in on the minds of the prisoners changing their hope of ever returning to their normal lives outside. Thirdly, the damp and decrypted essence of the place accentuates a sense of perishable knowledge in the minds of the prisoners. Andy - the films main character - is a banker wrongly accused of murder, he is placed in a cell dark, damp and lifeless. This symbolises the life behind bars and how it imposes on ones life. Symbolism is...

...Identify what you consider to be the director's main purpose and explore, in depth , one or two main visual/ oral techniques used to achieve this purpose.
An important theme in Frank Darabont's film , The ShawshankRedemption is hope in humanity. The film demonstrates that hope is a good thing . The director's main purpose was to convey this idea through the film to the audience by using visual and verbal techniques. In Darabont's film the theme of hope in mankind is important as it enables the audience to relate this idea to their daily lives as each has seen , felt or heard hope through stories , experiences and even on the news. The idea of having hope is positive as it helps one get through tough situations as it gives them motivation. The visual text provokes reflection of the audience about how the absence of hope can affect their life's and makes them conclude that having hope is a good thing. This thought provoking theme was an intention by Darabont and has been showcased through both visual and oral techniques.
In the film , The ShawshankRedemption , Darabont portrays hope in humans as an important thing to have. This purpose of the importance of the main theme in the visual is introduced to the audience through a mid shot of Andy Dufrensce which then pans to show Red Redding and the other inmates. Throughout the film Andy is witnessed to be peaceful and positive and this is because he has hope. Whilst...

...
The movie I’ve selected to analyze, which I feel provides a rich moral context, is ShawshankRedemption. The movie focuses on main character, Andy Dufresne, a banker in 1947 who was wrongfully charged with the murder of his wife and her lover. Due to the lacking of his lawyer, Andy was convicted and sentenced to two life sentences at Shawshank State Penitentiary in Maine. In an attempt to be his best self while serving his time, Andy befriends fellow prisoner Eliss Redding, otherwise known as Red. The story follows the two friends and their struggle to survive the brutal environment of the Shawshank prison, led by the the “supposedly” moral figure, Warden Norton, who abuses his power in the most unethical ways.
During his time at Shawshank, Andy makes the free and deliberate decision to deceive the warden, steal his laundered money, and escape through the walls of the penitentiary. Though this seems extremely unethical and worth punishing, he justifies his actions for all the pain he suffered as an innocent man.
Towards the middle of the movie, Andy began to be respected by the guards and Warden Norton for his financial advice and abilities. Prior to the guards and Warden Norton realizing that he had great financial abilities, he was often attacked and sexually assaulted by other prisoners. Though once he understood that his abilities can protect him from these group of men, he began using his power...